Hyouka Episode 12 Thoughts

“Don’t say that word in public.”

It’s that time of year again! Hyouka takes a back seat this week from all that mystery solving and drama to have some fun at the long-awaited cultural festival, the 54th Annual Kanya Festa! You can tell just how excited I am for this.

As hinted in episode 11.5 (which I won’t post about until the BluRay release) the anthologies have been completed in time for distribution. Only… a slip-up occurred and now they have 200 copies to sell instead of 30. Mayaka was rather emotional about the whole thing, but hey, it happens to the best of us, right? And honestly, 30 copies would’ve been a bit little even for a seemingly forgotten club. On the bright side, Oreki has an excuse to be lethargic again, and he even managed to sell one copy. But his smile could use some work.

It’s been over a year since KyoAni last did a school festival, and as usual, they seem to enjoy it; awesomely animated break-dancing – students sporting weird hats, costumes, and whatever strange accessories – unique and varying students (not a single one looks the same) – vocaloid cosplay – tons of colourful posters, graffiti, streamers, decorations and booths galore painting the scenery. In Hyouka, an anime sporting a classic motif, this is KyoAni’s most colourful festival yet.

Close enough.

Aside from a case of missing apple juices, there’s not a single mystery in sight, which I’m perfectly fine with since this episode’s alot of fun. More importantly, I see alot of potential character development for everyone other than Oreki. Like Ibara, whom I felt never played much of a role in past mysteries. She’s always taking jabs at Oreki or crushing on Fukube, but we finally get to see another side of her character. Her perception on cosplay and her involvement with the Manga Society shows there’s more to Ibara that we think, and with what looks like a potential conflict next episode, I’m excited to understand even more about her. Especially her cute side.

Then there’s plenty of Chitanda cuteness for all you Eru Chitanda fans – c’mon, I know you’re all out there somewhere! The way she acts is just genuinely adorable, although I’m not above thinking she’s playing us with her moe moe charms. If anything, she’s having a blast doing what anyone should do at a school festival and that’s indulging herself in fun things, including (but not limited to) calligraphy, cosplaying and playing karuta. However strong her sense of responsibility is, it wavers too easily without a pair of glasses to set her straight on her mission to sell every copy of Hyouka.

Watching this episode reminded me of how freaking jealous I am of the Japanese – cultural/school festivals all look so much fun no matter from whichever anime I watch. Ever since leaving middle school, I was never the one for school spirit (even now), but I would give anything to have at least one cultural/school festival before I turn 20. Will Chitanda ever finish her mission? What’ll happen to Ibara with the Manga Society? Will Fukube fix his Saturn? And is Oreki ever going to do anything? Probably not, but we’ll find out in episode 13.

Loving the new ending! Less yuri; more mystery. And Oreki looks hilarious in that high-horse outfit! XD

Thanks for reading!